Quite often it happens that SQL Server Management Studio’s Dropdown box is cluttered with many different SQL Server’s name. Sometime it contains the name of the server which does not exist or developer does not have access to it. It is very easy to clean the list and start over.

There are problems related to removing the SQLStudio.bin file as is contains a number of other values – removal is not supported by microsoft and a number of other posts relating to this subject describe that this is a poor design issue in that it does not allow easy management of the list – as a result and to prevent the unnecessary complications I suggest that you create a new user, log in on that account and open SSMS – it will save a new instance of all the setting, files etc. and once you have successfully logged on the default sql server (using that account) – copy the file created in the new account over your original log out – job done

Hi, I understand there are ways to clear the list but I wish to increase the max limit of the MRU list (to something about a thousand) as I connect to a lot of servers everyday and have to type in the credentials manually. Is there a wasy to do this?

This is really a combination of the OS and SSMS file placement.
I’ve outlined it here.
Before you delete any file be aware that this file is the configuration file for SQL Server Management Studio. Any customizations you have done will be lost.

To clear the connections list in SQL Server Management Studio and reset it to default settings:

Close SQL Server Management Studio.
Delete or rename mru.dat or SqlStudio.bin file from following location(s).

Amazing that the programmers/testers at Microsoft put up with this inability to better manage the list. Something like FileZilla’s account management of FTP accounts is simple, editable, moveable to other computers, etc. C’mon MS!

hi Pinal, When i was reading this article just one day ago i was looking for this over net but unfortunately i did’t find anything
but in ur article mentioned about mru.dat file i have searched this file too but i did’t find find one file with name sqlstudio.bin
one gyus in comment says about this file.could u plz tell me what is the purpose of this file and id mru.dat file is not available

Rather than deleting or renaming this file:
1)Close SQL Management Studio
2)Find the appropriate file(see post or responses above)
3)Open the .bin in a text/hex editior like NotePad++
4)Search for the name of one of the servers and identify the line number
5)Make a copy of the .bin/.dat file
6)Delete that line, make sure you delete the entire line, its possible if you have many the line could wrap.
7)Open SQL Management Studio your dropdown will be blank

I found this link while trying to figure out how to remove the login name from saved SQL server connections. The nutshell is to highlight the servername in the dropdown and press Delete to remove it. This also removes the associated login names, which was my problem.

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About Pinal Dave

Pinal Dave is a Pluralsight Developer Evangelist. He has authored 11 SQL Server database books, 17 Pluralsight courses and have written over 3200 articles on the database technology on his blog at a http://blog.sqlauthority.com. Along with 11+ years of hands on experience he holds a Masters of Science degree and a number of certifications, including MCTS, MCDBA and MCAD (.NET). His past work experiences include Technology Evangelist at Microsoft and Sr. Consultant at SolidQ. Follow @pinaldave
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an email at pinal@sqlauthority.com

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